SCS Flexibility & Mobility Training 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes the 'mobility-stability' continuum concept as applied by joint-by-joint theory?
- All joints equally need both mobility and stability
- Joints alternate in needing primarily mobility vs. stability up the kinetic chain (Correct answer)
- Only the spine requires stability; all other joints require mobility
- Proximal joints need mobility and distal joints need stability
Correct answer: Joints alternate in needing primarily mobility vs. stability up the kinetic chain
The joint-by-joint model (Cook/Boyle) describes alternating joints: ankle=mobility, knee=stability, hip=mobility, lumbar=stability, thoracic=mobility, etc.
Question 2: Static stretching performed immediately before a maximal sprint event is most likely to:
- Improve sprint time by increasing stride length
- Decrease sprint performance by reducing muscle stiffness and power output (Correct answer)
- Have no effect on performance
- Increase power output through pre-activation
Correct answer: Decrease sprint performance by reducing muscle stiffness and power output
Prolonged pre-event static stretching (>60 seconds per muscle) acutely reduces muscle stiffness and force production, impairing sprint performance.
Question 3: Which of the following mobility tools uses oscillating pressure (vibration) to reduce tissue tension and improve ROM?
- Static foam roller
- Vibrating foam roller or percussion massager (Correct answer)
- Lacrosse ball
- Resistance band flossing
Correct answer: Vibrating foam roller or percussion massager
Vibrating foam rollers and percussion massagers add mechanical oscillation that may further inhibit neural tone and increase blood flow beyond standard SMR.
Question 4: Voodoo band (compression flossing) is primarily used to improve mobility by:
- Increasing arterial blood flow during the compression phase
- Reperfusion of tissues and joint distraction to restore synovial fluid distribution (Correct answer)
- Activating muscle spindles to increase resting length
- Stretching the skin fascia superficially
Correct answer: Reperfusion of tissues and joint distraction to restore synovial fluid distribution
Compression flossing restricts blood flow during movement, and upon release the reperfusion and joint distraction effects help restore capsular mobility and ROM.
Question 5: Which programming consideration is most important when prescribing flexibility training for an in-season athlete?
- Maximizing static stretching volume at the expense of strength work
- Maintaining ROM gains while minimizing residual fatigue using shorter, targeted sessions (Correct answer)
- Eliminating all stretching to preserve muscle stiffness for performance
- Transitioning to ballistic-only protocols during competition phase
Correct answer: Maintaining ROM gains while minimizing residual fatigue using shorter, targeted sessions
In-season flexibility training should maintain off-season gains with brief, targeted sessions that do not add excessive fatigue ahead of competition.
Question 6: Which population requires extra caution when applying aggressive end-range stretching due to risk of joint instability?
- Athletes with muscle hypertrophy
- Athletes diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or generalized joint hypermobility (Correct answer)
- Masters athletes over 40
- Athletes with high BMI
Correct answer: Athletes diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or generalized joint hypermobility
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and generalized hypermobility conditions involve structurally lax connective tissue, making aggressive stretching potentially harmful.
Question 7: The 'flexibility continuum' model suggests that an athlete's optimal flexibility goal should be based on:
- Achieving maximum possible ROM in all joints
- Sport-specific demands and the balance between mobility needed for performance and stability needed for injury prevention (Correct answer)
- Matching the most flexible athlete on the team
- Reaching normative population flexibility percentiles
Correct answer: Sport-specific demands and the balance between mobility needed for performance and stability needed for injury prevention
Optimal flexibility is sport-specific; a gymnast needs extreme ROM while a powerlifter needs only functional ROM, and excess flexibility without stability increases injury risk.
SCS Flexibility & Mobility Training 5
Which of the following best describes the 'mobility-stability' continuum concept as applied by joint-by-joint theory?